The ISC Tackles Insurance Issues
From the origins of the efforts of RAC, the ACR also formed the Insurance Subcommittee (ISC). The first two chairs—Dr. Feldman and Rudy Molina, MD—came directly from the ASC. Dr. Molina has recently become a member of the Board and has passed the reigns to Elizabeth Perkins, MD. She is a current member of CORC, and is a solo private practitioner in Alabama with experience on CORC since her fellowship. The goal of the ISC is to identify the common issues burdening practitioners nationally and to provide member societies with resources to resolve them. The ISC’s essential strategies include strong partnerships with the insurance companies and societies; effective communication between providers, the ACR, and insurance representatives; and proactive assertion of our ACR policies. The ISC will continue to develop standardized letters, build better relationships with insurance companies, and support the efforts of ASC and ACR members. I am excited to see their work go live with additional website resources, as well.
The ISC is currently working on difficult prior authorization and precertification procedures; access to biologics and differential availability between insurance companies; reimbursement for procedures, infusions, imaging, and office visits; subversive tactics that deny equal access to effective treatments; the effect of quality measures on practitioners; and defending fair, equal, transparent fee schedules. Like the ASC, the ISC comprises strong advocate members from all over the country with a breadth of leadership experience. It’s a real pleasure to work with volunteers committed to making our profession more successful.
The volunteers on the ISC and the ASC perform vital work for the ACR and for the profession. A vast amount of work remains ahead for these groups, and I am confident that these great teams will have more success stories to share in the near and distant future. We welcome fresh ideas, new members, and new societies to join these efforts. If you are interested in starting a new group or joining your state society, serving as an ASC representative, or participating on the ISC, I encourage you to reach out to your state or local society or contact ACR staff in the practice management department. Contacts include Antanya Chung, director of practice management staff for the insurance subcommittee at [email protected], and Cindy Gutierrez, senior specialist of practice management staff at [email protected] for the Affiliate Society Council.
Advocacy is the key to the healthy future of our profession and, ultimately, to the excellence in care that we can provide to our patients. I am proud to know that the ACR committees are working together to promote and support excellence in healthcare and to facilitate our work as rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals.
